


Vodka Watermelon

by owlpockets



Category: Pacific Rim (2013), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-26
Updated: 2013-09-19
Packaged: 2017-12-24 17:00:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/942360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlpockets/pseuds/owlpockets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mako Mori has a secret crush and no idea what to do about it.  Natasha Romanoff has a secret identity and needs better friends.  </p><p>Clint Barton is positive chicks dig watermelons and sets out to prove it.  You know, after the Dog Cops season finale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Completely self-indulgent rom-com crossover fic because I couldn't figure out who to ship Mako with. Obviously, the Black Widow would be the only woman for her. It was supposed to be a ficlet to go with some art by [jarvipie](http://jarvipie.tumblr.com/), but quickly got out of control. Oh no.
> 
> See art [here](http://jarvipie.tumblr.com/post/56855617122/fandoms-and-assistants-collide-in-the-next-iron)!

Mako dodged through the door to her room, glad she had left it unlocked before leaving for breakfast. She leaned down to the peephole and intently watched the hallway, holding her breath and biting her bottom lip. Two people came into view, a man and a woman, both new in the past month. Mako had been avoiding them for the better part of the week, though she was supposed to be assisting them in evaluating what was left of the Jaeger program. And the reason for that was that she had suddenly developed a stutter in the woman’s presence, regardless of what language they were speaking.

As the two passed her door, the woman glanced to the side, her red hair floating along her shoulders like a cloud. Her expression changed only minutely, eyes boring through the door as if she could tell Mako was watching. Mako gave a small, involuntary gasp and hopped back, her whole face burning with the irrational embarrassment that she had been caught. After several minutes, Mako peeped out again to be sure no one was outside and slipped back out the door. She nearly leapt the short distance across the hallway, her boots clumping with uncharacteristic clumsiness, and swept into Raleigh’s room with barely a tap of her knuckles in warning.

“Are you lost again, or…?” Raleigh was still in bed with headphones and a half eaten muffin. Of course, it was Sunday.

“No.” Mako realized she must look half-crazed and studied her toes for a moment while she smoothed her hair down. 

“Oh.” He frowned at her. “Uh…did I forget something important and you’re coming to kick my ass?”

“No,” Mako groaned and shuffled across the floor and perched on the edge of the bed. “I can’t tell you, it’s too embarrassing.”

Raleigh popped out his headphones and sat up, offering the remains of the muffin. “You don’t have to. It’s not like we have to Drift anymore.”

Mako ignored the muffin, deciding it wouldn’t do anything for her churning stomach. Part of her was bursting to tell, but at the same time she felt about as silly and immature as a schoolgirl with a crush on her teacher. “I can’t talk to Miss Romanoff. My words, they don’t come out correctly,” Mako finally said quietly. “She…she’s so beautiful.”

“You like her?” Raleigh huffed a laugh when Mako nodded and lay back down. “Okay, I have to admit I saw that coming a mile away.”

Mako didn’t feel particularly better for having vented her troubles. She suddenly felt like crying and curled up on the edge of the bed, resting her head on Raleigh’s arm but carefully facing away. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t think she even knows my name.” Raleigh hummed, but didn’t offer any advice. She stole his iPod and didn’t move again for the next half an hour.

__

“What?” Natasha said as she flipped through the folder in her hands. She could feel Clint watching her. “ _What?_ ”

“She’s cute, you should ask her out.” Clint was grinning at her. 

Natasha considered tripping him. “Who?” Of course, she knew the answer to that already, but fantasizing about him falling on his face was more fun.

“Mori-san,” Clint chirped, batting his eyelashes over his sunglasses. “I saw you watching her perky butt scurry around the corner. My gaydar senses are tingling.”

“Mm,” Natasha answered, making a few check marks on the form in her folder. “Your gaydar is about as accurate as a drunk giraffe playing darts.”

“No no, I got this. I’ve never seen a bigger ladyboner in my life. Plus, she starts stuttering every time you walk in the room.” Clint pushed open the door to the mess hall and held it for her. “You can’t deny she’s being pretty conspicuous as far as secret crushes go.”

Natasha rolled her eyes and got in line for coffee. “Are you going to work or waste the entire day on gossip?”

“Jury’s still out.” Clint grabbed two cups and handed one over. “Oh hey, did you hear one of those German scientists downstairs slapped Tony? I don’t know which one, they both start with G. But anyway, you can imagine how that went.”

Natasha sighed, having answered her own question indirectly. Clint was bored (and frankly so was she), but there wasn’t much to do and there were only so many hours they could watch Dog Cops seasons one through three. Natasha mixed her instant coffee and tuned out Clint’s blow-by-blow recap of the Tony incident to think about Mako Mori. Maybe there was something there. And she was very cute.

__

Mako's lunch looked utterly unappetizing, but she took the tray anyway and went to sit by Raleigh. Decent food was all but a distant memory, she was used do it, but Mako still wished her canned vegetables were not that particular shade of olive drab.

"You're frowning at your lunch again. Is it the food or something else bothering you?" Raleigh generally didn't have any problem eating the military-grade fare, but Mako was also pretty sure he just swallowed it whole. She tried that a few times but it didn't seem to help, she could still taste it.

Mako knew he was referring to her confession from the day before, and perhaps it was bothering her a bit, but she willfully ignored it. "I want fresh fruit," she said instead. "Watermelon."

"I can probably arrange that," a male voice behind her suddenly replied. Both Mako and Raleigh jumped in their seats. Clint Barton slid onto the bench next to Mako and picked up one of her green beans with his fingers and put it in his mouth. Mako stared at him, thoroughly disgusted. "It'll take a few days, but no problem. I won't even charge you for it."

"Thank you, but...." Mako started diplomatically, but Barton cut her off before she could decline.

"Seriously, no trouble at all. Anyway, I was just on my way out." Barton took another green bean and got up. "Meet me in store room B in an hour, Becket. Got some work for those idle muscles."

"Yesss...sure," Raleigh's reply was awkwardly drawn out, like he was about to say 'yessir,' but realized he didn't actually know if Barton outranked him. Mako didn't know either so she said nothing. Barton didn't seem to notice and flipped them a vague salute before walking off.

Mako and Raleigh looked at each other in confusion, lunch temporarily forgotten during the strange encounter. "That guy makes me nervous," Raleigh said finally.

"Me too," Mako replied. "He is so sneaky, I think."

__

Mako spent the rest of the afternoon down in the labs, half-listening to Gottlieb and Geiszler bicker while she helped Stark navigate her Mark III restoration project notes. She liked Stark, he was funny and charming, also incredibly intelligent without being patronizing like certain other scientists she knew. They worked well together.

"Get a room, you two," Stark called across the room when the Gottlieb's voice had reached a fevered pitch. They both shut up immediately. Mako put a hand to her mouth to hide her smile. Of course she had heard about the slapping incident (most likely not a single soul in the 'Dome was unaware by now). 

"Christ," Stark muttered. "It's like sharing a lab with two cats in heat. They're both so far back in the closet they might actually be coming around the front."

Mako couldn't stop a small giggle from escaping her lips. Stark smiled at her over his computer. "What about you, Miss Mori? Are you seeing anyone? That cute blonde copilot of yours, perhaps?"

"No, we are just friends," Mako answered. Not that she hadn't considered it, however briefly. But Mako knew that she just didn't like men, however much she may love Raleigh. The Drift had confused her for a little while, but she'd had time enough since for her brain to reset. "Not enough time for relationships, just work."

"That's a shame. The war is over, you know. Noble warrior-types aren't going to be fashionable anymore." Stark was typing as he talked, so he missed Mako making a face at him. She had to admit he had a point, though. But perhaps Miss Romanoff liked noble warriors...? 

Before Mako could follow that train of thought into a full-fledged fantasy, the door opened and none other than Natasha Romanoff stepped through the door. She walked with purpose toward Stark's bench, heels clacking against the cement floor and a stack of papers held firmly in one hand. As she reached the computer, Romanoff swept her hair aside and gave Mako and intense glance, the corner of pink-painted lips twitching in what might be a smile. Mako panicked instantly; she wanted to run away, hide under her bed for the next six months. She looked down at her toes, willing her face to stay calm.

"I have the papers you were looking for, Mr. Stark," Romanoff said. Her voice was low and smooth and her words enunciated perfectly, though Mako was pretty sure she was Russian.

"Thanks, Natasha," Stark answered and took the stack, but he was watching Mako, a little crease appearing between his eyebrows.

 _Oh no_ , she thought. _I must look like a tomato_. Under her bangs Mako could see Stark look questioningly at Romanoff, who tilted her head to the side slightly. Obviously she was missing something in this silent exchange. _Shit shit shit_. Mako forced herself to straighten up and raise her gaze.

"Ranger Mori," Romanoff greeted, nodding to her. "I see you're both busy, so I'll be on my way."

"N-nice to see you," Mako stuttered out. She groaned internally as Romanoff just smiled and walked out of the lab. _Good job, Mori._

Stark was watching her when Mako had collected herself enough to turn back to her work. Whatever he was thinking about her behavior, he didn't say, and she wasn't sure whether to be grateful or worried about the next day's rumors.

__

Clint was laying on Natasha's bed, spinning a small, perfectly round watermelon in his hands. She had restrained herself from grabbing it and smashing it so far, because she was privately curious about why he had it. Clint was not generally interested in saving food for a special moment once he had it in his hands, but he hadn't produced a knife to cut the thing yet. Intriguing. Still, Natasha ignored him and went about painting her toenails baby pink, despite Tony's claim that it made her feet look unnaturally young for the rest of her. The second he got intoxicated enough to fall asleep she was painting _his_ toes baby pink. Natasha was very good at waiting and there was a lot of vodka in her room.

"Stop playing with your food," Tony finally snapped as Clint started balancing the watermelon on his head. "Why did you want that anyway?"

One the computer screen, Pepper looked up from whatever she was working on, suddenly interested. "Yes, I would like to know, too. Please tell me I didn't waste company resources flying a watermelon to Hong Kong just so you could drop it off the roof, Agent Barton."

Clint looked suitably insulted. "Of course not! It's for Mako Mori. She wanted one."

"To drop off the roof?" Pepper asked, always skeptical of everyone's motives after living with Tony so long. Natasha could sympathize—she felt the same after being partnered with Clint for too long. 

Clint gave a long-suffering sigh and finally stopped playing with the melon. "I'm not going to question the motives of the woman who saved the world for wanting some fruit, guys. Besides, I'm pretty sure she just wants to eat it."

While Pepper didn't look convinced, Natasha decided it was a perfectly reasonable request. "Why did you only get her one?"

"I dunno, she only asked for one." Clint shrugged and plucked the vodka bottle from Tony's hands to take a drink himself.

"You're an idiot," Tony told him. " 'Hey, thanks for saving the world, that was really great, here's _one four-dollar watermelon_ because I'm a cheap bag of dicks.' "

"Shut up, it's not like you got her anything," Clint grumbled.

"Right, because the sixteen million dollars I donated means nothing next to seedless watermelon." Tony snatched the vodka back.

"Six, it was six million," Pepper deadpanned through the laptop speakers. "Why are we even arguing about this? Clint, that's very sweet, but maybe a little misguided. Tony, six million is the equivalent of a Hallmark card for you. Try harder. And I've got a meeting, so enjoy Hong Kong and I'll see you in a couple of weeks." She signed off without saying goodbye.

Tony frowned at the blank screen for several seconds, obviously put out by Pepper's characteristic truth bombs. Natasha patted his shoulder and pulled out a second bottle, tucking her nail polish in her pants pocket so it would be within easy reach for later. "Someone should bring the watermelon over," she suggested with a sigh. "I'll contribute my best unopened bottle to make it a little less of a cop out."

Clint narrowed his eyes, a devious expression suddenly washing over his features. "You take it. Chicks dig watermelons." He wiggled his eyebrows and held out the fruit, but Natasha didn't take the bait.

"That's actually perfect," Tony agreed.

"Oh come on, not you too. Have you been talking to Clint about me behind my back?" Natasha accused Clint of most things by default, but in reality Tony was as much the culprit. They were too similar sometimes and it made Natasha want to tear her hair out when they were in the same vicinity.

"I came to the same conclusion independently after that little incident in the lab the other day. She's about as subtle as a sack of bricks." Tony, at least, looked a little sincere. He side-eyed Clint and added. "And, let's face it, you could do worse."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Clint shot back, not missing a single thing. "Hey, no. Whatever you heard, it isn't true."

"Uh huh. Look, what's the harm? She obviously likes you a lot, and we'll be out of here in a few weeks anyway." 

Tony gave terrible dating advice, but was lot better at packaging it than Clint. Still, Natasha's curiosity was about to get the better of her. She stood and moved in front of the mirror, taking down her ponytail to scrunch up her loose waves into something a bit sexier. The tank top and sweatpants, after a moment's consideration, were probably less threatening than putting her pants and blouse back on. Less threatening could also mean less stuttering, and maybe a normal conversation.

Natasha picked up the unused vodka bottle and held her hand out toward Clint. "Okay, give me the melon. And _no peeking_ after I leave. That goes for both of you."

Both of her friends looked put out by this rule, but the last thing Mako needed was two creepers watching from the shadows. Melon under one arm and bottle under the other, Natasha gave them one last pointed look before backing out the door.

__

When Mako heard the knock on her door she expected it to be anyone but Natasha Romanoff. She panicked silently after looking through the peephole, shook her hands out, then shoved the half-eaten remains of last night’s take-out dinner under her bed. She pulled on a cardigan over her tank top and finally opened the door. “Y-yes?”

Romanoff looked far less imposing without her makeup and heels and standing a step below Mako. The entire look was surprising, almost like a completely different person. Her expression was neutral when she spoke, “I brought you something. Clint said you wanted this.” She nodded to the watermelon tucked under one arm.

Mako blinked deliberately twice, baffled that Barton had actually been serious when he said he would get it for her. “Oh, thank you. That’s very kind.”

“I also brought this, from my own stash.” Romanoff held up a very expensive bottle of vodka. “It’s good to put on the melon. You can have it.”

“I couldn’t possibly, Miss Romanoff,” Mako said, feeling the blush start to creep up her neck. “It’s too much.”

“Please, call me Natasha.” She pushed both items into Mako’s hands despite her protests. “It’s definitely not enough, but it’s the best we can do right now.”

“But….” Mako was getting flustered in spite of herself.

“Goodnight, Mako. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Natasha gave her a soft smile as she turned to go, and Mako noticed she was barefoot, adorably pink-painted toes curling into the floor.

“Goodnight,” Mako said belatedly, standing awkwardly in her doorway with an armful of gifts and an eyeful of Natasha’s ass swaying back down the hall. _Oh no. Why can’t I ever get this right?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce arrives. Natasha likes to watch. Mako gets drunk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My life is spiraling out of control. Anyway, there is now a fanmix to go with this fic. Listen [here](http://8tracks.com/owlpockets/vodka-watermelon#smart_id=dj:1300153)!

“Bruce! Finally, someone I can work with.” Tony walked around his lab bench, arms open to greet the man in the doorway.

Mako also stood, but waited near her chair to be introduced, not wanting to interrupt their affectionate reunion. She smiled a little, glad to have another hand to help out, especially one of such a high caliber. She felt she already knew and liked Dr. Banner from how much Tony talked about him.

Stark walked him over, a hand on his arm. “This is Mako Mori, she singled-handedly restored Gispy Danger. And then, you know, saved the world.”

“Bruce Banner,” he said, bowing slightly and then extended a hand for her to shake with a shy smile. “Yes, excellent work, Miss Mori.”

Mako imitated his greeting. “Oh no, Mr. Stark makes me seem like I did it all myself. I had a lot of help.”

“Don’t be so modest,” Stark said with a laugh. He waved to Newt and Hermann across the room. “Hey, Bowl Cut, Tats, front and center.”

Both of them had been clearly staring but trying to appear as if they were not. Newt looked like he was itching to fanboy all over Dr. Banner; Mako was unfortunately too familiar with his obsessive tendencies. Hermann looked less impressed, but he considered almost everyone a potential rival. He might also be mad about being referred to once again as “Bowl Cut,” however apt the description. Newt dropped the act first and scurried over (there was no better word for it, Mako decided), Hermann following behind more slowly and making a great show of leaning on his cane with extreme gravitas. His science swagger, Mako thought, the sad nerd version of the male posturing she encountered daily from the vast majority of the population of the Shatterdome. Mako inhaled and exhaled slowly and looked down to keep herself from rolling her eyes at him. 

“Oh man, Dr. Banner.” Newt grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously. Banner looked a bit taken aback. “Your work is like…” Newt couldn’t get his words out properly and instead made a noise like an explosion and fanned out his hands from the sides of his head. “…WOW. I’ve read all your papers, man. Hermann? Hermann come on, this is major history happening over here.”

Stark looked over at Mako and winked. He tilted his head back toward the door and mouthed carefully _get out while you can_. Mako was inclined to agree as Hermann (pardon, “Dr. Gottlieb”) gave a pretentious sniff and introduced himself and Newt, who had forgotten to do so.

Mako slipped past them. “I have to go. It was very nice meeting you, Dr. Banner. See you tomorrow.” She received a cheerful wave from Stark, a confused look from Banner, and only vague acknowledgement from Hermann and Newt. They were too star-struck to care, she figured, which was fine with her. No chance for them to ask her to take their numerous and varied complaints about the facilities and each other to the Marshall. 

Mako had no specific plan, so she headed toward Raleigh’s room with the intention of asking him to get some lunch with her. Along the way, she ran into Tendo, who was heading in the same direction, presumably to lunch himself.

“Hey, Mako,” Tendo greeted her with a slightly wolfish grin. “Heard you and Miss Romanoff were getting along well.”

Could she kill Mr. Stark and hide his body sufficiently well to get away with it? Dumping it in Kaiju Blue might work. She chose to ignore his insinuation. “Are you going to lunch?” she asked instead of shoving him into a wall. Generally, she liked Tendo, but he was also the biggest gossip in the entire PPDC. If he and Stark had joined forces she might as well grab Raleigh and preemptively move to the Artic Circle out of shame.

Tendo looked mildly disappointed, but he didn’t press. “Yeah, not a lot to do today, for once. You?”

“I…” Mako stopped herself. She was too annoyed with him to share a table. “No, I’m going to the gym.”

“That’s a shame, I could use some company.” Tendo pushed his hands in his pockets and frowned.

Mako almost started to take pity on him, but the urge for subtle revenge was too strong. “You should go down to the lab. Mr. Stark’s colleague has just arrived. I’m sure he will be wanting a meal and a tour of the facility.” She left out the tiny detail about Newt and Hermann being down there too.

Tendo brightened considerably and patted her elbow. “Bruce Banner’s here? Thanks, Mako. Excellent idea.” He turned and hurried in the other direction. “See you later!”

Mako got some malicious satisfaction out of sending Tendo to the maw of the beast, where he would surely get trapped for hours. She reached Raleigh’s door and knocked, deciding she probably ought to go to exercise. Thinking about how many people must know about her secret crush if Tendo knew left her with a feeling of restlessness and irritation that a little physical exertion would surely go a long way to alleviate.

Raleigh must have been reading her mind, because he opened the door already dressed for a work out. “Let’s go fight,” Mako said.

“Sure,” Raleigh said with a smile. He followed her across the hall and waited on the step while she changed quickly.

The moment they stepped into the Kwoon Mako started to feel better. There were a couple of young techs screwing around in there, but one pointed glare from Mako had them scurrying away. She and Raleigh would probably have an audience in a couple of minutes, but she didn’t mind too much. It was easy to block them out; Raleigh drew her focus so that all she could see was him. They tied the first three points, which pleased Mako. It had been happening a lot more often lately.

As expected, the techs had returned with a small crew of other onlookers. A flash of red caught Mako’s eye and she faltered, her concentration broken quite suddenly. Natasha was watching, Barton by her side as usual. Barton looked disinterested as he checked his phone, but Natasha’s eyes met hers right as Raleigh’s _hanbo_ thwacked lightly into her shoulder. Startled, she turned back and shot him an apologetic look.

“One-zero,” Raleigh said. He continued more softly, “What’s wrong?” 

Mako flicked her eyes briefly toward where Natasha was standing. Raleigh followed her gaze and raised his eyebrows slightly. He made a wild lunge that she countered easily, but it got them close enough together for Raleigh to mumble to her, “Show off a little. She’ll love it.”

At first, Mako hesitated, defending herself conservatively and ultimately making a mistake. Raleigh claimed the second point, looking a little disappointed. “Come on,” he goaded quietly.

While Mako was entirely unsure that this was an appropriate way to flirt, she decided to go for it. Taking a slow breath, she centered herself and tuned out the chatter from the doorway. Mako figured Raleigh wouldn’t fight back very creatively if he was going to throw the match, so she took the opportunity to showboat before going in for an easy point. There were a few weak noises of appreciation from the inexperienced audience. Mako refrained from smiling and went in for a more complicated strike, getting two hits in and ending with Raleigh face down on the ground. Mako made sure she was facing Natasha as the fight ended. She felt a little bad about the unnecessary bruises she had surely given her friend, but Natasha’s faint smile sent a thrill down her spine, chasing all other thoughts out of her head.

Raleigh squirmed and she let him up. “Sorry, I got carried away,” Mako breathed. 

“It’s fine.” Raleigh massaged his elbow and smiled at her. “Good job, Mako.”

Their audience was quickly dispersing back to their regular tasks. Barton had disappeared already, but Natasha had stayed, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed loosely under her chest. Her hair was done up in a twist and she had on an incredibly flattering shade of pink lip tint. Mako fortified her resolve and walked over to Natasha with Raleigh trailing behind. 

“That was quite something,” Natasha said. Mako thought she could detect a hint of admiration.

“Thank you, but it was not that great. I…um….” Mako wanted to say _I was distracted because you look so pretty today_ , but she lost her nerve. “I’m tired today,” she finished lamely. She thought she could hear Raleigh shouting _What are you doing?!_ in her head.

“Mako’s always too modest. I’ve never gotten the last point against her.” That was a bald-faced lie, but Raleigh was clearly trying to help her past her timidity, and it was unlikely Natasha would understand the nuances of Kwoon combat anyway. 

Mako tried to pick up where he left off. “No! You won once, last week.”

“Yeah, but that’s just because you were going easy on me. Anyway, it’s nice to see you, Natasha. I’m gonna hit the showers and get some lunch. See you later, Mako.”

Natasha gave a little wave as he walked off. “Did you enjoy the watermelon?” she asked, turning her full attention back to Mako.

“I haven’t eaten it yet,” Mako admitted. “I’m saving it.” For what, she wasn’t exactly sure, but cutting open her first gift from Natasha seemed almost sacrilegious. The vodka remained unopened too.

“Don’t wait too long. You deserve to indulge a little.” Natasha was gazing at her thoughtfully. “Or a lot.”

Mako realized that maybe she had forgotten how to be generous to herself. She suddenly felt lost. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Natasha reached out and carefully fixed Mako’s hair. Her voice was low and smooth, and she was close enough that Mako could feel the warmth of her breath ghost across her face. “Come by sometime and I’ll dye your hair for you, if you like.”

“Your hair is very pretty.” The words slipped out before Mako could even think about whether or not she wanted to say them. Strangely, she felt better for having blurted out exactly what she was thinking, especially when Natasha smiled and thanked her in return.

__

The watermelon was really good. Unfortunately it only lasted about twenty minutes and now Mako found herself seated on Raleigh’s shoulders, the vodka bottle in one hand and the other flung out trying to keep her balance as they wandered the halls looking for trouble or more drinking buddies, she wasn’t sure which anymore. Mako had never been this drunk in her life, but she also hadn’t had the opportunity to do so when the world was ending. It was fun and a little exhilarating to feel her inhibitions beginning to slide. Occasionally she would lean down and sloppily pour some of the vodka straight into Raleigh’s mouth. He wasn’t nearly as intoxicated as her, but she guessed that was probably a good thing as the floor seemed to be a very long way down.

A door opened to their left and a squinting Tendo poked his head out, hair uncharacteristically messy. He had creases in his cheek like he had been fast asleep moments before. Mako squawked in laughter and almost dropped the bottle.

“The Breach has reopened! A category _six_ kaiju is emerging!” Mako slurred.

“It’s twelve-fucking-thirty on a Tuesday. What are you doing?” Tendo grumbled.

Raleigh swayed a little and Mako grabbed his head to keep from falling backwards. “Gispy Danger uses vodka cannon on kaiju codename Bad Sideburns, it’s sss-super effective,” Mako replied, trying to hand off the bottle to Tendo.

“No way, some of us still have real jobs. You gotta stop hanging out with Tony Stark, Mako.” Tendo tried to close the door, but Raleigh’s foot was in the way. “And I’m mad at you for not warning me that Gottlieb was having a snit earlier.”

“Aww, man, you used to be fun. What happened?” Mako didn’t have to look down to know Raleigh had turned on the dejected puppy face. She smooshed his cheeks a bit, but it seemed to have the opposite effect on Tendo, who grimaced. Raleigh laughed.

“I’m still fun.” Tendo sounded defensive. “But I got like a year’s worth of sleep to catch up on. Seriously. Something you should be doing more of, Rals.”

“Sleep is for the weak,” Raleigh answered stubbornly.

Mako nodded sagely. “Weak and sober.”

Tendo sighed and opened the door. “At least you won’t get into too much trouble in here. Give me some of that.” He took the bottle from Mako and poured a little into a glass. “Huh, that’s not bad. Where did you get it?”

“My giiiirlfriiiend,” Mako giggled. She and Raleigh had toppled over onto Tendo’s bed. “Well, not really.”

Tendo’s eyebrows shot up. “Tell me more,” he urged.

Mako sort of remembered that she was supposed to be mad at him for this very reason, but her mouth had yet to catch up with her brain. “She’s Russian.” Mako considered this for a moment. “I think.”

“Natasha asked her out,” Raleigh supplied with a grin in Mako’s direction.

“Sort of,” Mako added.

Tendo looked confused. “Somebody start making sense.”

“Natasha gave me a watermelon and the vodka. Then she liked my fighting and offered to dye my hair.” Mako felt a dreamy smile spreading across her face that she was powerless to stop through the drunken haze.

“I swear, I don’t understand how women operate sometimes. How does all this add up to a date?” Tendo claimed the last sliver of bed as a seat.

Mako’s eyes unfocused and she slumped down until her eyes were level with Raleigh’s face. “I think I’ll buy her a teddy bear.”

“Good idea,” he said.

“Okay, just ignore me, then.” Tendo threw up his hands as Mako stuck out her tongue at him. “I give up. If you pass out on my bed I’m rolling you into the hallway and taking pictures.”


End file.
